Schwarzenegger Plays Swinger in New Film

LOS ANGELES – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (search) appears as royalty in his latest film role, but the character is no Prince Charming.

He's the sultan of swingers.

Just months after facing allegations during his campaign of groping women, Schwarzenegger does a star turn in a reprise of "Around the World in 80 Days" (search) as a polygamous prince whose oversized ego is nearly matched by his desire for women.

As the lusty Prince Hapi, Schwarzenegger is on the screen for only about five minutes, decked out in robes, baubles and kinky shoulder-length hair. But it's long enough for the prince to display the kind of appetite for indulgence Schwarzenegger made famous in his Hollywood days.

The prince is first seen deftly plucking a mandolin in his lavish home while a pair of scantily clad belly dancers twirl around him. Following a champagne-fueled banquet, he ends up in a hot tub telling bawdy jokes and sweet-talking comely French artist Monique (Cecile De France), the eventual love interest of wacky scientist Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan (search)).

After feeding her a strawberry, the prince insists she leave her globe-trotting companions behind and become part of his harem.

"You have seven wives?" she asks in disbelief.

"One for each day of the week," Schwarzenegger's character explains calmly, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. "Do Tuesdays work for you?"

The prince releases her only after her friends threaten to destroy a beloved possession -- a larger-than-life-sized statue of himself, done in the style of Rodin's "The Thinker."

In the end, the prince plays the fop -- he loses the girl and the statue.

The cameo was filmed outside Berlin in June, before Schwarzenegger turned his sights on Sacramento. The governor has called the film -- loosely based on the Jules Verne (search) adventure novel -- "a wonderful family movie."

Co-producer Hal Lieberman said no thought was given to dropping the scene, despite the controversy during Schwarzenegger's campaign.

"We weren't knocking ourselves out with worry about that," he said. "Although he's a philanderer in the movie -- he has seven wives -- look at his marriage with Maria (Shriver)," he added.

The $110 million film, also starring Jackie Chan, will be released by Disney June 16. Schwarzenegger has been invited to the premiere in Hollywood next Sunday but his office said he will not have any role publicizing the movie.

The governor, who has appeared in more than 30 films, put his movie career on hold after being elected.

Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" earlier this year whether his days as a leading man were over, he said, "What do we know, after I'm finished with this job, where I'm going to go?"